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Hound and Rabbit

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This is an exciting chase game with just a few simple rules. You can get by playing the game with as few as five, but it gets really fun with 8 or more players. This game doesn’t take a lot of space, but you may want to move any breakable objects from the immediate vicinity.

Number of players 5-60
Space: a really large living room for a small group, or a good-sized back yard

Materials needed: rambunctious players

The play begins with at least one group of three players standing in a circle with their arms interlocking. These three players are forming a hollow tree. Each of the three trees has a player called a rabbit stationed inside. There should also be one more rabbit than the number of trees. One player also plays the role of the hound.

The hound chases the rabbit that doesn’t have a tree, who can take refuge in any tree, running in and out under the arms of the players forming the tree. The catch is that no two rabbits can lodge in the same tree at the same time; so as soon as a hunted rabbit enters a tree, the rabbit that’s already there must run for another shelter.

Whenever the hound catches a rabbit, they change places; the hound becomes the rabbit and vice versa. The hound can become a rabbit any time by taking shelter in an empty tree, and then the rabbit without a tree becomes the hound.

This game can be very lively, even for adults. If you have a lot of room, everyone gets a lot of exercise, and there’s lots of opportunities to dodge and run. If there’s a lot of players, the rabbits and hound should change places with the trees whenever a rabbit gets caught. Being a tree allows players who might not have a great deal of agility to participate in the game.